‘Whiskey Cavalier’ Canceled After One Season at ABC

It came down to the wire but ABC has opted not to renew its freshman spy drama Whiskey Cavalier starring Scott Foley and Lauren Cohan for a second season. I hear series producer Warner Bros. TV will be shopping it to other outlets/platforms. While not entirely unexpected given the show’s ratings performance, this is still a stunning development as Whiskey Cavalier had been touted as one of ABC’s biggest new series for this season and became the network’s first scripted show to launch after the Oscars.

Since then, Whiskey Cavalier has seen its ratings decline until settling into subpar 0.4 adults 18-49 rating (Live+Same Day), airing in the Wednesday 10 PM slot picked so the comedic drama cold take advantage of ABC’s comedy block as a lead-in. The drama is a major DVR gainer, more than doubling its Live+same delivery but it’s starting from a small base.

Still, the show has big stars in Scandal’s Foley and The Walking Dead’s Cohan and a seasoned team behind it in creator/exec producer David Hemingson and exec producer Bill Lawrence.

As so often is the case with series that are middling ratings performers, I’d heard the network asked WBTV for significant concessions but in the end, the two sides could not find a compromise. Spy drama Whiskey Cavalier is a sleek, big-budget, globe-trotting actioner, which is important to WBTV for its international sale appeal and because of the big investment the studio already has made in it.

Whiskey Cavalier follows the globetrotting adventures of two very different secret agents Will Chase (Foley) and Frankie Trowbridge (Cohan). That cast also includes Ana Ortiz, Tyler James Williams and Vir Das.

David Hemingson created and writes the series and serves as executive producer alongside Bill Lawrence, Jeff Ingold and pilot director Peter Atencio. Foley is also a producer. Season to date; Whiskey Cavalier is averaging 1.2 adults 18-49 and 6.6 million viewers (most current).